City Manager Bob Boyette (Marion NC) provided the following economic statistics and facts yesterday during the monthly McDowell Board of REALTORS meeting:

1. December 2016 county unemployment rate was 4.6%
2. That unemployment rate is below the state average of 4.9%
3. That unemployment rate is tied for the 20th lowest in NC
4. That unemployment rate is lower than all surrounding counties except Buncombe, which has lowest rate in NC at 3.7%
5. More jobs are likely to be announced in February or March
6. McDowell County has many open jobs available
7. Retail sales have grown faster than state average for 6 of past 10 years
8. Retail sales were up 10.6% or almost $33 million in 2016 over 2015 and are up 13% for first 6 months of 2016-17 over 2015-16
9. There has been a net gain of over 60 businesses in City over the past 6 years